INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Catherine Bakes

OFFICE: A-405 BSA

This course provides an introduction to the basic concepts underlying local and wide area telecommunications networks and an understanding of the relevant terminology. It includes an overview of transmission media, data communications protocols, and network configurations, a description of modulation, error control, multiplexing, and switching techniques, and a discussion of current telecommunications technologies, services, standards, and regulations. In addition, students are to complete a team research project focusing on some topic from the field of telecommunications.

You are expected to take each quiz in class on the day that it is scheduled. A makeup quiz (which may be different from the original quiz) will only be given if you have a legitimate excuse (i.e., sickness with medical note, athletic event with coach's note, religious observation, military responsibility with documentation, or death in family with documentation) and obtain my permission prior to the scheduled quiz time. Otherwise, you will receive a zero for a missed quiz. If you have any questions concerning a grade you receive on a quiz, it is your responsibility to inform me within 1 week of the quiz being returned to you. Quiz grades will not be discussed after that time.

If your project report is turned in late, 20% of the available points will be deducted for each calendar day that it is late. You are required to join the course listserv and, if you join by the specified deadline, you will receive 1 point of extra credit. The project presentation forms and the extra credit guest lecture summary will NOT BE ACCEPTED after their respective deadlines.

After rounding your numeric score to the nearest integer, your course letter grade will be assigned according to the scale: A = 90-105; B = 80-89; C = 70-79; D = 60-69; and F = 0-59.

Attendance is not mandatory but is highly recommended if you wish to do well in the course. You are responsible for all material presented and should not expect any special consideration if you miss material due to being absent.

You are expected to be respectful of other students and the instructor at all times during the semester! Come to class on time and stay until the class has ended. Unless you have a legitimate reason for doing so, do not come to class late or leave early. There are other students who want to be in class and it is not fair to disrupt them by the noise and disturbance of late arrivals and early departures. Never ridicule anyone for asking a question. There is no such thing as a stupid question but it is stupid not to ask a question when you have one! Use of a cell phone or pager during class is not permitted. Improper classroom behavior will not be tolerated and is grounds for dismissal from the course, resulting in a grade of F.

Prerequisites: Students attending the course who do not have the proper prerequisites risk being deregistered from the class.

Course registration: Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes. You are advised to review your official class schedule during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section. Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until 9/13 to correct it with your advising office. If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.

Academic honesty: Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit. The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense. It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course. Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.

Course withdrawal: For Fall 2002, the course withdrawal deadline is Sat. 11/2.

Students with disabilities: In accordance with University policy, if you have a documented disability and require accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester or when given an assignment for which an accommodation is required. Students with disabilities must verify their eligibility through the Office of Student Disability Services (SDS) in the Michael Schwartz Service Center (672-3391).

There will be 7 quizzes, of which your best 6 will be worth 12 points each and your worst will be dropped. Their emphasis will be on the material discussed in class. Each quiz will be approximately 15 minutes long and given at the beginning or end of a class period. While taking the quiz, you may refer to one 1-sided 8 ½ x 11" page of notes which you are to show me when you turn in your quiz. Except for this page of notes, each quiz will be closed book and closed notes.

Each student has the option of submitting a summary of the guest lecture for extra credit. If your summary is at least 2 pages long (excluding headers, titles, etc.) and includes the significant points from the guest lecture, it could add up to a maximum of 4 points to your course grade.

Each team of 4 students is to write a project report on some topic from the field of telecommunications and present it in class. The topic you select should be relevant to the course and add new information beyond the material that I cover. For ideas on possible project areas, I suggest that you browse through the text, explore the Internet, visit the libraries at Kent State, Akron, Cleveland State, and/or CWRU, and consult the following list:

You have the choice of selecting your team members and project topic or having me assign your project team and topic for you. If you choose the former option, your team must discuss your project with me and obtain my approval of your topic selection by 5 pm on 9/13. You may do this in person during my office hours, or by phone or e-mail. If you do not obtain my approval by 9/13, I will assign a team and topic for you. Note that the topics listed above are suggestions only. Your team’s topic does not have to be on the list, nor is it guaranteed that I will approve your selection of a topic that is on the list.

The project report should have a cover page that includes the project title, team number, team members’ names, and date. Each page (starting with the second page of text) should be numbered and the report should have an introduction, a section for each subtopic, a conclusion, a bibliography (use a mix of print and electronic references and cite all your references at appropriate locations within the report using any well-established style, e.g., APA, IEEE), and illustrative figures and/or tables. The figures and tables should be placed in an appendix, be numbered appropriately, have captions, and be discussed in the text of the report. In addition to the cover page, bibliography, figures, and tables, the report should have 3 to 5 pages of text per team member. While there may be individual grade adjustments based on feedback from the peer evaluation forms, the report will be graded initially according to the following scheme: breadth 15%; depth 15%; clarity 10%; organization 10%; difficulty/effort/new information 10%; professionalism 10%; figures/tables 10%; references 10%; relevance to course 10%.

Each team (either all team members or one spokesperson) is to present their project in class at the end of the semester. When giving your presentation, it is not necessary to include all the details in your report. You are strongly encouraged to use PowerPoint (do not read the information you present), to begin the presentation by introducing your team members and topic, to include a hands-on demonstration if appropriate, and to rehearse your presentation to ensure that it fits the allotted time (this will be based on the class size and announced in class approx. 2 weeks before the presentations begin). You may assume that an overhead projector, computer, and computer projector will be provided, although I strongly recommend that you have a backup plan in case of equipment failures. If you wish to use any additional equipment, you should notify me at least one week in advance, schedule a time to test the equipment in the classroom, and coordinate your presentation with the other teams presenting on the same day. While there may be individual grade adjustments based on feedback from the peer evaluation forms, the presentation will be graded initially according to the following scheme: breadth 10%; depth 10%; clarity 10%; organization/teamwork 10%; difficulty/effort/new information 10%; professionalism 10%; visual aids 10%; enthusiasm/innovation 10%; diction/pace/time management 10%; eye contact 10%.

The project report and project presentation grades will be assigned initially using the grading schemes outlined above. However, I reserve the right to make adjustments to individual grades based on information from the peer evaluation forms which you are to download from the course web site and complete. You are to use these forms to award points that indicate the value of the project contributions of each member of your team and to provide written comments justifying the points you award. Failure to complete and submit a peer evaluation form by the specified deadline is likely to result in a negative adjustment to your own project report and presentation grades.

Each student is required to attend all the project presentations at the end of the semester and to submit a form (which you are to download from the course web site) for one presentation from each of the 3 class meetings in which projects are presented, and for a fourth presentation from any of these 3 class meetings. Enter the presentation date, team number, and topic on every form and complete the rest of the form making sure that it is clearly legible.

Weeks of 8/26 & 9/2: Ch. 1-2

Week of 9/9: Ch. 3

Weeks of 9/16 & 9/23: Ch. 4 & pgs. 396-400

Week of 9/30: Ch. 5

Weeks of 10/7, 10/14 & 10/21: Ch. 6, Appendix, & pgs. 40-42, 58-61 & 70-74

Weeks of 10/28 & 11/4: Ch. 7-8 & pgs. 14-26

Week of 11/11: Ch. 11

Weeks of 11/18 & 11/25: Ch. 10 & 12

Weeks of 12/2 & 12/9: Project presentations

NOTE: I will make every effort to follow the schedule outlined above and to cover the topics in the order listed. However, depending on the pace of the class, we may cover some topics earlier or later than scheduled.